Suspension systems for automotive vehicles provide vehicle passengers with a more comfortable ride. Air suspension systems utilize air springs, rather than traditional coil springs. Air suspension systems provide different suspension qualities that may be preferable in some vehicles to traditional coil spring suspensions.
A conventional aft spring is a device that is arranged between a vehicle body and chassis. The typical air spring has at least one working space, or cavity that is filled with compressed air. Air spring pistons typically seal the aft chamber against a hydraulic shock absorber (damper). Many air spring systems also include a reservoir which provides a greater volume of working space to supplement the cavity filled with compressed air. The addition of a reservoir provides an additional air cavity for packaging more air volume in the vehicle environment available for use with the air spring.
However, the reservoir occupies space, and various packaging requirements may require the reservoir to be placed in a remote location relative to the rest of the air spring components, or the reservoir may be limited in size.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a reservoir which is adaptable to various vehicle packaging requirements, and may be located in close proximity to the other air spring components.